Diana Hart posted a lengthy and deeply critical statement about her brother Bret Hart’s account of the legendary match he had with Diana’s late ex-husband, Davey Boy Smith, at SummerSlam 1992.
Bret has often spoken about the match, which many fans rank among the best in SummerSlam history, and has claimed that he more-or-less carried the match. According to Bret, Davey Boy’s well-documented drug problems had left him in a poor physical condition for the match, thus requiring Bret to work at a higher
level with the end result being a classic bout.
Smith died in 2002 at the age of 39 after suffering a heart attack. Burt Hart, one of Diana and Bret’s older brothers, remarked that steroids and human growth hormone played a part in Smith’s early death. Though Diana and Davey Boy were divorced in 2000, she has continued to defend his legacy. When Smith was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020, Diana was on hand to accept the honor with other family members.
Diana’s efforts to protect Davey Boy’s reputation has now extended to the recent statement posted on her Instagram on Tuesday (April 14), in which she said some of Bret’s claims about SummerSlam 1992 are “simply not true.”
She also said that The Hitman’s memory of the event in 1992 may have been distorted due to the stroke he suffered soon after Smith’s passing.
“Bret does not present his statements as opinions; he states them as facts. That distinction matters, because many of his claims—specifically about Davey’s physical or mental state at SummerSlam’92 are simply not true,” Diana wrote in the social media post. “It is my opinion that Bret’s current misrepresentation of events at SS92 may be influenced by the stroke he suffered in the summer of 2002.”
She continued by saying that Bret could have made the claims “if they were legitimate” regarding the 1992 match for a full decade before he began speaking about it after Davey Boy’s death.
“He never did. Not once,” Diana said. “The absurd and hurtful accusations began after Davey was no longer alive to respond.”
She went on in the statement by writing that she had made “appeals to him with facts, proof/records and critical reasoning” in order for Bret to “restrain and refrain his slander, but he refuses.”
Diana asserted that by taking all the credit for the greatness of the match, Bret has diminished Davey Boy’s role. She said that fans who watch the match can see Smith’s contributions and that his “performance shows no evidence of impairments.”
“On the contrary, it reflects Davey’s professionalism, strength and focus-despite the FACT that he was recovering from necrotizing fasciitis, a serious and life-threatening flesh-eating infection (we have proof),” Diana wrote. “Davey did not complain, seek sympathy, or disclose his condition to the public. He simply did the work.”
She then accused her brother of having a “long-standing pattern of self-aggrandizement.” Diana also said that in her opinion, “Bret’s tendency toward ego, bullying & exaggeration predates both his stroke and the match in question. I base that on my lived experience growing up with him as my older brother and on decades of observed behavior towards family members and colleagues.”
Diana concluded her statement by writing: “What I will not accept is history being rewritten after the fact, especially when the person, (Davey) being totally discredited is no longer alive to defend himself. Davey was so good and loyal to Bret.”
The picture in Diana’s post showed her celebrating with Bret and Davey Boy at SummerSlam 1992, however, her brother is mostly covered up with a large, black X.
As of press time, Bret has not responded to Diana’s statement.
What do you think about Diana’s assessment of Bret’s claims regarding SummerSlam 1992? Let us know in the comments.
